Between Friends
by VintageManniqueen
Summary: Betty/Gladys.
1. Chapter 1

Set a while after the end of season 1, Gladys has moved into Kate's old room.

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><p>Betty tried with all of her might to keep from casting a glance in the brunette's direction. She bit her lip, she closed her eyes, she even attempted silent prayer. But being in such close proximity to her, naked and not paying attention, Betty just had to stare.<p>

She did _not_ make a habit of peeping in the shower. It was bad enough to… be that way, let alone try to act on it; she had certainly been burned by _that_ boiling water. She had too much respect for her girls to think of doing that.

But Gladys…

They were two of the last remaining in the shower. They weren't being supervised currently, and the other few girls certainly weren't paying attention. They were more focused on getting as much chemical off of their skin as possible.

She wasn't sure if it was the steam, or just the romanticized idea of being near to Gladys while unclothed that made her entire body feel like it carried the same powerful, vibrating hum of the factory equipment. She was very certain, however, that Gladys had a beautiful figure, and she wanted to touch it.

She was beginning to feel extraordinarily brave, empowered by her will to so boldly fantasize in such dangerous waters.

As the last paranoid worker exited the shower, Betty sauntered over to Gladys as she turned to exit, as well.

"I wish I were such a pretty picture," she said with just enough smooth honey, and just enough jealous longing to pass as such in the event that her advances were thwarted.

"Oh!" Gladys exclaimed a little breathlessly, startled perhaps from her own steam-induced fantasy. Her voice shook a little. "I was… a little off my guard." She couldn't help but to steal a glance at the blonde's pert breasts.

"My apologies. I was just feeling a little envious over your figure." Her hand subtly, "accidentally," grazed Gladys' backside, and she froze for a moment and shivered.

"Ah," she hissed quietly.

"What?" Betty asked as she grabbed for her towel.

Gladys wondered if she should say anything at all. "I'm just a little anxious."

Betty stepped outside of the shower. "Oh, _that_ kind of anxious," she said with a wink.

A blush rose into Gladys' cheeks. "Well, I haven't exactly been… properly taken care of since James left."

Betty tucked the towel around herself and let her hair down from its knot. "Well, that's just terrible. I would recommend taking care of yourself…"

"I don't know that I would be very good at that. I've never really tried it."

Betty winked. "You should try it sometime."

She left Gladys standing with a towel wrapped loosely around her flushed body, wondering where exactly one began with… taking care of things.

Gladys sunk herself slowly into the warm water, letting it wash over her sensitive skin like the touch of a lover.

She leaned her head back, letting the warmth seep into her hair…. She failed to notice the faint jiggling of the doorknob of the door she rarely locked.

Betty, well aware of how to open the troublesome door (locked or not) easily fought her way into the room.

"I was thinking about going-" her words died in her mouth as she took in the sight before her.

Gladys sat up abruptly with a slosh of the water. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't hear you," she muttered just loud enough for Betty to hear.

"I, uh, I'm sorry… I'll just come by in a while or you could come across the hall when you get a moment…" Betty's words trailed off as she turned away.

"Oh, no, no. I was actually just getting a little too lost in thought for comfort. I could use a little conversation."

A familiar tingle mixed with the warmth of steam began to settle into the blonde's chest for the second time that day, and she hesitantly seated herself, facing away from the tub and beautiful Gladys's beautiful, exposed body. "Are you sure?"

Gladys laughed. "Sure that I need some distraction? Positive." She dunked a cloth into water.

Betty twisted her hands together. "I meant, that I'm here."

"I will not justify that with a response. Now, where did you mention you wanted to go?"

Betty stared at her fidgeting hands. Gladys, lovely, lovely, Gladys- slightly _annoying_ yet still lovely Gladys was such a short distance from her, naked…. How could she think? She searched frantically in her mind for something coherent and relevant to say.

"I thought we might, uh. To that… There, around that corner…"

The bathing beauty tapped some water out of her hair. "Come sit closer? I'm can't hear you very well and I'm too exhausted to strain." She reached blindly for the shampoo bar, which was placed into her hand by Betty as she cautiously placed herself near the bathtub.

_Hold still. Do not breathe that way. Do not act like a… a…_

"You know what? I think some girl time sounds lovely. I think we should go- wherever it is."

Betty nodded. "Sure. It's not so very late now, and I can help you fix your hair-"

_Do not do it._

"I'll start at the roots and work my way up. I'll wash that mane of hair for you, Princess." She took the shampoo bar back into her own hands and rubbed it between them. Expensive and imported soap, at a time like this.

_That's why she smells so wonderful…_

The blonde worked her nimble fingers through Gladys's hair, gently caressing the skin beneath, trying desperately not to stare at her naked form in the water.

"That feels heavenly," Gladys muttered. "You're so very gentle. Who would have thought."

Betty chuckled. "I'm not exactly the most graceful goose, huh? I suppose I just fell right into your pampered princess trap- gotta be careful not to bruise you." She dipped her hands into the water to rid them of the scented suds.

"Ready for rinse-off," she joked.

Gladys whined. "No, please… Don't stop? It feels so wonderful. It's almost like you've got magic flowing from those fingertips."

Betty grinned stupidly and bit her lip. "Well, I am pretty… handy with my hands." She was referring, of course to her position in the bomb factory, but realized the implications of her words in conjunction with what she had mentioned to Gladys earlier in the showers. She stilled for just a moment, paralyzed in horror, but Gladys appeared unbothered my the comment.

She set a firm rhythm in the dark tresses, and found her hands easily taking control while her mind wandered. Unwittingly, so did her hands. She massaged along the back and sides of Gladys's neck, and moved onto her shoulders, squeezing and rubbing with finesse. "You are wonderful with your hands," Gladys murmured, bringing Betty's mind back to attention with alarm.

"I, well, uh. You've worked so hard lately, your poor shoulders need to loosen up. And with that over-filled bag you've always got…" Again, she rinsed the soap from her hands and this time, removed herself from the chair.

"Rinse the soap out before it makes you itch."

Minutes later, Gladys pulled the drain stopper. "Could you please give me that towel?" She asked softly, ringing the water from her hair.

"Sure thing," Betty said. She was beginning to lose control over her eyes.

Gladys dried herself thoroughly and slid on a pair of cotton undershorts. In a swift gliding motion, she seated herself on the side of the bed and flipped her hair over one shoulder. "Bring back those magic hands?" She pleaded.

Every nerve in her body begged her to scream "NO," and dash away, but Betty seated herself behind the brunette and began to knead her shoulders.

"Mm, yes. You are a miracle worker," Gladys mumbled.

She wasn't sure if it was Gladys's exposed body, or the steam, or the chemicals of the factory finally getting to her brain, but Betty took an open invitation.

She trailed her hands firmly up and down Gladys's sides, squeezing here and there to keep up the illusion. She brought her hands back to the base of her neck, slipping them around to her chest before she finally lost all resolve and cupped Gladys's breasts with a soft whimper from her own throat.

Gladys, surprised but not disgruntled, released a breath caught in her throat at the contact. What was she really doing wrong? Nothing. Her body ached for touch and Betty was someone she knew well and trusted. Betty wouldn't hurt her or get her pregnant. And exactly how much does something two friends did matter? James didn't even need to know. It was all rather innocent, really, and just between friends-

"Oh…" Gladys whimpered as Betty's soft lips made contact with the tender flesh of her neck, and Betty's fingers brushed over her nipples.

"I"m so sorry," Betty muttered between sultry kisses to the brunette's skin.

"Please, don't be," croaked Gladys. She reached her hand back to push it along the inside of Betty's thigh and grasp at the soft flesh through the flimsy material of her pants.

"So, so, sorry," Betty mumbled, her lips fluttering down Gladys's neck as one of her hands caressed its way to the apex of her thighs.

Gladys stood abruptly and turned around to face a bewildered-looking Betty. "Please, please show me how to do this," she murmured, fingers gliding through the buttons of Betty's blouse. "I have no idea how to help myself, or how to help you." Her eyes pleaded honestly. She parted the shirt and the silky material slid from the blonde's shoulders.

Betty nodded slowly and allowed her camisole to be pulled over her head. "You're off to a good start," she breathed.

Gladys stepped back very slightly. "You have such lovely skin, you know. It's a shame that you keep it so covered." Betty blushed, and Gladys tentatively pressed her lips to Betty's collarbone.

It had been so despairingly long since she'd been so close to someone, let alone been touched, skin-to-skin. All the pain of Kate and that loathsome kiss melted to the floor and pooled in a puddle with her clothes and Gladys's underwear. The woman in her arms might not exactly be the holder of her heart, but they were close, and so were their bodies and it didn't really seem to matter.


	2. Chapter 2

**Special thanks to Cheeses.**

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><p>"Ungh," Gladys moaned against the sweaty crook of her elbow as Betty's fingers pumped nimbly inside of her.<p>

She couldn't describe with words the things she was feeling. She needed colors- vibrant colors, and sounds, scents, and words from several other languages to convey 1/100th of her experience.

She wasn't sure if the delicate fingers buried inside her folds had anything to do with it or not, but she suddenly became very aware of the beauty of Betty's lips, and the way her nose suited her in way any other nose never could. She brushed the backs of her fingers over Betty's cheeks, but promptly dropped her hand to grip the blonde's shoulder with the tips of her fingers as Betty slipped another digit into her.

She became overwhelmed with the desire to smash her lips into those of her talented… _friend? _Lover? She wanted so badly to kiss her as she wove her fingers into the fine golden locks, but, she thought, that would make this all too real, and therefore, too much like cheating. Too much like something lovers do. So, instead, she listened to the other _calling_ from somewhere recently discovered within her body and guided Betty's mouth to her breast.

Betty's lips attached to her breast and she flicked her tongue roughly over the hardened nub there. She knew she needed to tell Gladys to keep it quiet, but she just couldn't pull her mouth away. She began to suck lightly, and slowly withdrew her fingers from the brunette with a gentle "pop" as her fingers slipped from the slickness. She began to trace lazy circles around her clit, and felt her body shiver and her own blonde curls become slick and hot at the sounds coming from within Gladys's throat.

Much to her surprise, she felt a hand cover her own between the brunette's legs.

"I need to feel what you're doing," Gladys whispered airily, "So I can do this for you."

Betty was fairly certain that the sheet beneath her became drenched in her own wetness.

"You won't have to do that, Princess," she muttered, placing the kind of kisses on Gladys's collarbone that drive people to madness.

Gladys bucked her hips to press herself into Betty's hand. "But. I. Want. To," she gasped.

The blonde dragged two fingers from her entrance to her clit several times, before plunging them both inside, and yet again gliding them back to her clit, effectively sending Gladys's hand back to her own mouth. She moaned so loudly that Betty feared someone in the hall must have heard.

"Keep it down," she warned softly, slotting the hypersensitive nub between two of her fingers.

"I don't think I can," Gladys panted. "I think- UH. I'm not sure," she breathed. "But I think that I'm-"

Betty swiftly leaned up on one elbow to cover Gladys's mouth with one hand and, with the other, she brought her counterpart to the edge.

With a series of audible whimpers and a flash of colors visible only behind her eyelids, Gladys rocked her hips against the hand between her legs. Nothing with James had ever been this fulfilling.

"Fuuu-"

"It's okay to say it," Betty said raspily.

"-ck." The final sound died gently on Gladys's lips.

And like lovers don't, Betty settled next to Gladys and didn't offer to hold her, or stoke her hair. Instead, she tried to level her breathing and watched her own breasts as her chest heaved.

After a moment, Gladys turned slowly onto her side and tentatively placed her hand on the blonde's stomach.

"Your skin's on fire," she whispered.

Betty turned her head to glance at her through half-open eyelids. "Hot and bothered," she muttered, with a sly twist of her lips.

Gladys trailed her fingertips from where they rested on her cohort's stomach to just beneath her breast. Gently, she cupped it in her hand and ran her thumb over the hardened nipple.

Betty bit her lip and let out a soft "Oh."

"You… Really don't have to," she breathed. "I feel like I'm forcing you into something."

The thumb brushed over her nipple again, and again after that, forming a steady pace. "I want to."

Without much hesitation, she drew one pink nipple between her lips and sucked, pinching the other between her thumb and forefinger gently. Gladys has always been very confident- even when basically clueless.

Betty didn't seem to make much noise, but she certainly had a vice-hold on the lip caught between her teeth. Gladys took that as a good sign.

What to do next? She could continue what she was doing, but that might bore Betty. Or, worse yet, that could make her sore. She nearly began to panic, and quietly hoped that Betty might pet her hair in reassurance.

She sucked in a deep breath through her nose and glanced to the blonde's face before replacing her mouth in a trail across her chest, closing her eyes to _feel_ what she was doing more than to think about it. For all of her tough character, Betty's skin was soft and silky, a perfect landing place for one's lips. Her hand tickled its way down, and she slid her fingers through Betty's blonde curls in a well-disguised moment's hesitation.

_Relax_, Gladys told herself.

_Let your fingers do the work._

Now that she had experienced her own relief, the prospect of returning the favor wasn't exactly as easy to swallow as it had been when her own skin threw enough heat to warm the room and her own sex tingled and ached for touch.

But somehow, it all still didn't _bother_ her.

She slowly slipped her hand into Betty's folds and gasped aloud at the slick wetness she found pooled there. Had her own body done this for Betty?

"Oh, God…" Betty murmured.

She had done something wrong. "I'm sorry, i-"

"No. No, no," Betty fumbled. "You didn't do anything wrong."

But Gladys found herself frozen.

"Teach me," she urged, feeling the persistent pounding between her legs begin again.

Betty sucked her lip between her teeth again, and wrapped her hand around Gladys's, separating her pointer and middle fingers from the rest of her hand, guiding them to and placing them on her own clit.

"Right here," she whispered. "If you still want to."

Gladys gently circled directly atop the bundle of nerves, applying a little more pressure with each full circle.

"Here?"

Betty nodded. "There, exactly." Her hips began to rock ever so slightly, and Gladys did her best not to pause or seem alarmed.

If only her parents knew, she thought. If only James knew. But even with these thoughts, and the knowledge of what she was actually doing at that very moment, Gladys still couldn't find the tragedy in the situation. It was all just so… wonderful and convenient. What could possibly be wrong about it? Betty's low and persistent whimpering didn't leave her much time alone to ponder.

She became highly comfortable with the act, dragging her fingers teasingly along the length of her sex, stopping occasionally to softly pinch the delicate flesh.

"Princess, you're a natural," Betty breathed.

Gladys propped her head up on her hand and continued to make her fingers dance tantalizingly between her friend's legs.

"I just don't understand why this is so taboo," she whispered, swiftly rubbing her in precisely the right location.

Betty gasped. "You'd understand if you loved women, I think." She panted and held her breath for several long seconds at a time. "Please, please don't stop."

Gladys circled her clit a little faster and a little harder, and continued to do so until Betty's hips ceased their rocking and her hand suddenly clamped down firmly on Gladys's wrist.

On impulse, she quickly dragged one finger over the pulsing flesh and withdrew her hand to lean back and watch the blonde's chest moved up and down. Her breasts were oddly mesmerizing.

"I didn't think you had it in you," Betty said.

"I didn't know I did, either. I'm happy you showed me, though."

Betty sought out Gladys's hand and laced their fingers.

"I… Truly enjoyed that. I needed it," Gladys whispered.

"So, you're not going to go off and never speak to me again?"

The brunette turned on her side and rested her head on the blonde's shoulder. "Why would I do a thing like that?"

Betty stared at the celling. "I thought you'd be disgusted by it."

They lay in silence for what could have been three hours, or half of a minute. Each thought the other to have fallen asleep.

"I wouldn't mind doing this again," Gladys said quietly. "I know I'm not Kate-"

"- And I'm not Lieutenant Jackass," Betty interjected.

"-But I wouldn't be opposed… to keep us both sane."

Betty nodded, but Gladys still made out the movement in the darkness. She nuzzled her nose into the crook of the blonde's neck and pressed her lips to the rosied skin. A kiss to the skin was acceptable, she decided. Anywhere but the lips.

"If you won't be too bothered, Princess, I think we might need to get a little more dressed than we are- in case anyone decides to barge in."

Gladys placed one last, lingering kiss there and eased herself away to reach for the puddle of lingerie next to the tiny bed.

As they settled in next to each other clad in slips with tossled hair, nothing seemed out of place. Betty faced one direction and Gladys the other, and they fell into a usual pattern, as if nothing had happened. Gladys could not bring herself, however, to wash the scent of her sleeping friend from her fingers.


End file.
